2023 March 27 • Monday
Thethe 771st Soundtrack of the Week, and
wrapping up a month of jazz scores, is No Sun in Venice,
composed by John Lewis and performed by the Modern Jazz Quartet.
First of all, let's hear it for the Turner painting on the cover!
The music begins with "The Golden Striker", which has Lewis and Milt Jackson
braiding together piano and vibes while bassist Percy Heath plays a little bit
with the bow before plucking the strings. Connie Kay on drums starts
with an insistent and subtle, almost minimalist but intensely rhythmic
bit of percussion. After a bit of this the band settles into a typically killing
and swinging groove, making it apparent why MJQ was such a big freakin' deal.
Next is "One Never Knows", a quiet and gentle piece in which each of the four
articulates every element of each musical idea with deft precision and taste.
It starts with a celestial mood and ends as a more bluesy, late-night,
earthy tune. The melody mostly belongs to Jackson but this is absolutely ensemble music.
"The Rose Truc" is very light but fast, sprightly and springing all over the place,
with Jackson again taking the lead and everyone else leaving lots of space
while giving him all the support. When Lewis comes in on piano, it's about
as opposite of foreful as you can imagine but nonetheless the impact is huge.
In his solo he be incredibly startling just with a single note, not by being
loud but by being so exquisitely chosen and placed.
Side Two starts with "Cortege", with Jackson and Heath creating
beautifully cloudy sort of mood while Kay gradually introduces a sunnier
sound with triangle. Eventually all three dig in for a bluesier,
slow but hard singing number. When Lewis comes in, the feel changes
drastically, again, for a happier, lilting section before yet
another unexpected but seamless transition to something more somber.
This is followed by "Venice", which is the most familiar-sounding
piece on the record. It sounds like a standard but it isn't
and maybe never became one either. If not, it should! The harmonic
structure seens to be fairly straightforward and the tempo is
relaxed and swaying, allowing for impressive and impressively
effortless-sounding contributions from everyone.
Finally there's "Three Windows", an angular, "modern" sort of piece
with, again, impeccable restraint and deliberation. It's hard to say
who's the most amazing player here. I guess they all are. It's a very
dry martini of a tune with everything always soundin inevitable and
unexpected at the same time. It starts as what you might think is
typically brainy West Coast jazz and then slips so easily into
a swinging blues that by the time you've noticed, it's too late!
It's a superb record. I wonder if the movie's any good.
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